


night brighter than the day

by mozaikmage



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, First Dates, M/M, even though I have no plans on spending christmas in tokyo in the near future, level of research: my browser keeps giving me ads for christmas in tokyo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 05:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16079072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mozaikmage/pseuds/mozaikmage
Summary: Yaku's not sure what he was expecting. Probably not this.





	night brighter than the day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [priin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/priin/gifts).



> a fic entirely derived from [ this art ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/1dc82627e3c8dad5067ac917192eba3e/tumblr_inline_pf9no3NZsZ1vun4yj_500.png)  
> for riin, because she deserves it

After the last practice before winter break, Kuroo grabs Yaku by the shoulder and asks if he can talk to Yaku for a second. They stay behind in the club room after everyone else leaves for the night, Kenma saying he’ll wait for Kuroo outside.

Yaku’s not sure what he was expecting. Probably not this.

“You’re not doing anything for Christmas this year, are you?” Kuroo asks, looking off to the side.

Yaku raises an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well,” Kuroo rubs the back of his neck. “I was thinking...maybe...we could...go somewhere? And do something? Together? Like as a date thing, but if you want it to be like a ‘single friends hanging out’ thing we could do that too. Uh. Yeah.”

Yaku stares. “If this is your idea of a joke, it’s not very funny.” Yaku’s sure he was being careful, not staring at Kuroo too much or being overly nice to him or doing anything to indicate his whole... _ feelings _ thing. How Kuroo found out about it is beyond him. Maybe Kenma guessed somehow and told him, but Kenma’s not a gossip.

“Why would I joke about something like this?” Kuroo looks exceptionally tortured, which Yaku would probably find funny if he wasn’t trapped in this conversation with him.

“You’re genuinely asking me out on a date?” Yaku’s voice cracks a little on the word “date,” and his face feels like it’s on fire. He’s pretty sure this whole encounter is going to haunt his nightmares for years to come. 

“Well, not if you’re going to be a dick about it,” Kuroo mumbles. “Actually, you know what, forget it, this was stupid—”

“Yes,” Yaku blurts out, before Kuroo can escape.

“Yes, this was stupid? I got that, thanks!”

“Yes, I’ll go out with you on Christmas Eve,” Yaku says. 

“Oh.” Kuroo grins, not the smirk he usually does to intimidate opponents, but a big, goofy smile that makes his whole face look different. Yaku doesn’t remember ever seeing that smile before. Kuroo quickly squashes it and assumes his usual “neutral-shading-to-sinister” expression. “So, see you then?”

“Yeah. Text me the details.” Yaku throws his volleyball bag over his shoulder and speedwalks out of there. If his face is still red when he gets home, it’s definitely because of the cold weather.

 

Christmas Eve arrives with less fanfare than it probably deserves. Students get the week off from school, but Yaku’s mom still has work, so she’s not there to tease him when he goes to meet Kuroo in front of Tokyo Station at five. Yaku hesitates over his outfit a little, wondering if he should try to dress up, but not desperate enough to ask anyone for advice. He ends up wearing his usual Winter Casual Clothes: a black turtleneck, gray jeans, boots. Puffy nekoma-red coat he’s been wearing since first year. Good enough, Yaku decides, and makes his way to Tokyo Station just slightly earlier than they’d agreed to meet. 

Kuroo gets there later than Yaku, out of breath, his hair looking like he’d tried to do something to it and failed. The area around Tokyo Station is crowded with young couples, here to look at the holiday lights. Kuroo’s easy to spot though, sticking up from the mob of averagely tall people like a skinny teenage tree. Yaku waves to get his attention and Kuroo visibly lights up, like he wasn’t expecting to see Yaku there and is now surprised and delighted at his presence. Yaku’s face heats up.

“Hi,” Kuroo says, smiling.

“Hi,” Yaku says, and then automatically elbows Kuroo so they’d seem more like two friends hanging out and less like two boys on an awkward first date on Christmas Eve. “Where are we going?”

Kuroo gestures vaguely at the row of LED-studded trees illuminating Marunouchi. The sun hasn’t set completely yet, but the lights flick on at exactly 17:00 and fill the dark blue sky with an artificially golden glow. The sounds of people gasping in appreciation of the display mix with the phone camera shutter noises to create an extremely Tokyo-flavored cacophony.

“I was thinking we’d just walk through this to the big Christmas tree, maybe grab something to eat on the way?” Kuroo says, sounding uncharacteristically nervous.

Yaku lets himself smile a little. “Sounds good.”

The lights really are beautiful, Yaku thinks. They cover every square centimeter of the grove in Maranouchi, creating the impression of a night shining brighter than the day. And though there are a lot of people here, they’re all couples, talking quietly to each other and taking selfies together. No loud children or groups of teens being rowdy. It’s pretty nice.

“I’m still kind of surprised you said yes,” Kuroo finally admits. “But then I figured, if I chickened out now, I’d probably never get around to saying anything, so.”

“A first date on Christmas Eve is a little much,” Yaku says, looking off to the side. “You’re lucky I like you.”

He glances up for a second to see Kuroo blushing, glowing red from the lit-up trees. He looks ridiculous. And cute. Yaku wants to do something about it.

So he grabs Kuroo’s hand and starts walking in the direction of the Kitte Christmas tree.

There’s a nikuman stand in front of the Kitte building, which seems out of place compared to the Westernized designer everything surrounding it, but hot meat buns are perfect for the cold December air. Kuroo buys half a dozen.

“We should eat them outside, hot food tastes better in cold air,” Yaku says. 

Kuroo looks disgusted and betrayed. “Does  _ not!  _ Hot food in winter is best enjoyed when you’re in a nice and warm indoor place!”

“I can’t believe I’m on a date with someone whose opinions are literally always wrong,” Yaku mutters, shaking his head dramatically. 

“It’s too late to get a refund now.” Kuroo smirks at him.

They’re walking along the huge glowing white Christmas tree and bickering about food when Kuroo suddenly stops walking. Yaku bumps into him.

“What are you doing?”

“Look,” Kuroo hisses. Yaku looks. 

A few feet away, two very familiar figures are examining a picture on a smartphone. 

“Daishou,” Kuroo and Yaku say in unison. 

“With Mika-chan,” Kuroo adds. “I guess they got back together.”

“Mika-chan?”   
“We went to the same middle school. Still talk sometimes,” Kuroo explains. “That’s how I knew she dumped him before the playoffs.” Daishou and Mika are standing close together, discussing whatever they’re looking at on the screen.

“Should we pretend we didn’t notice them and quietly walk somewhere else?” Yaku says. He’s not in the mood for confrontation right now. They’re supposed to be on a date, dammit.

Mika suddenly shoves the phone at Daishou and starts yelling about something.

“...I want to see what happens,” Kuroo admits. “What if Daishou gets slapped in the face?”

Yaku decides that yes, that would be something he’d like to see. They walk a little closer. Kuroo hands Yaku a meat bun from the paper bag.

Mika is saying something about Daishou needing to make more time for her, how now that play-offs are over he can’t just keep the same practice schedule and never hang out with his girlfriend because of volleyball. It sounds like a well-worn argument, the kind of arguments that can never be resolved to anyone’s satisfaction.

Daishou notices them first and actually yelps out loud. Like someone discovering a cockroach on his desk. “What are  _ you  _ doing here?”

“Shopping,” Kuroo lies smoothly. “What about you, Shoujo manga-kun? On a date? Mika-chan, you really could do better than this guy. I keep telling you.”

“HEY,” Daishou says.

Kuroo leans over and whispers into Yaku’s ear. “I want him to think I’m gossiping about him but I don’t have anything to say, so just pretend I’m telling you something really embarrassing about Daishou.”

Yaku widens his eyes and cackles accordingly. Daishou scowls. Mika looks very, very tired.

“Hi, Kuroo-kun,” Mika says, smiling politely. “And Kuroo’s friend. You’re on Nekoma’s volleyball team too, right? I don’t remember your name.”

“Yaku Morisuke.” Yaku bows on reflex. 

Daishou opens his mouth, probably to say something petty, and then thinks better of it.

“Well. Merry Christmas, Mika-chan,” Kuroo singsongs. He hands Yaku another meat bun. “Would you like a meat bun?”

“No, thank you.” Mika puts her hands in her coat pockets and looks up at Daishou from under her bangs. She’s very cute. Definitely out of Daishou’s league, Yaku thinks.

“Can’t you just...go away?” Daishou asks. Which was the wrong thing to say.

Kuroo’s smirk widens. “But we still haven’t gotten any pictures in front of the big Christmas tree! Mika-chan, do you think you could take a picture of me and Yakkun?”

“Don’t call me that,” Yaku says automatically.

“Of course,” Mika says. She takes several pictures, one of Kuroo making v-signs with both hands while Yaku keeps his hands in his pockets and smiling slightly, one of Kuroo throwing an arm around Yaku while Yaku pretends to be annoyed by it. The stupid tree is so bright and white the two of them are completely backlit, and it’s hard to make out their faces no matter how much Mika messes with the filters. Eventually Kuroo grabs the phone and says, “Group selfie time. Daishou, get in here.”

“What?”

“Come on, Suguru-kun,” Mika says. “What are the odds we’d run into people we know on Christmas Eve? We should commemorate the moment.”

Yaku suddenly understands exactly why Mika and Kuroo are friends. Daishou folds the minute Mika smiles at him and whispers something Yaku can’t make out.

They make Kuroo take the group selfie because his arms are the longest. Then Mika and Kuroo spend a solid five minutes putting sparkle effects on the image, for some unholy reason. Mika texts the photo to herself and the Nohebi couple finally leaves, their earlier argument forgotten.

 

“Okay, we got some pictures in front of the Kitte tree. Can we go now?” Yaku asks. “I’m cold.”

“You’d be less cold if you’d wear a scarf like a normal person,” Kuroo says, blatantly disregarding the fact that he’s not wearing a scarf either. “Which reminds me.” He reaches into the ridiculously large pockets of his coat and pulls out something wrapped in brown paper. Yaku’s heart stops for half a second. “Kuroo, you didn’t.”

“Exchanging gifts for Christmas is a thing, right?” Kuroo says, the picture of innocence. He shoves the package at Yaku.

Yaku shoves the package right back. “Yeah, but for a first date it’s a bit much!” 

“I got the whole team keychains for Christmas last year,” Kuroo says. “Just pretend this is a really, really big keychain.”

Yaku snorts, because Kuroo is ridiculous, and finally takes the package. It’s a scarf, red and black plaid, soft and warm and matching most of Yaku’s clothes. It’s perfect.

“How,” Yaku says, taking the scarf and wrapping it around himself. “How are you just...like this.”

“Like what?” Kuroo’s grinning, insufferably smug, insufferably  _ Kuroo.  _ Yaku wants to do...something, but they’re still outside and in public, so he settles for pulling his new scarf up to his nose and glaring. 

They walk around a little more, chatting about nothing in particular, and wind up at the entrance to Tokyo Station again. They live on the same train line, but Kuroo lives a few stops further down. He still insists on getting out with Yaku and walking him to his doorstep, because it’s “the right thing to do.”

“You’re embarrassing,” Yaku says, because it’s true. Kuroo ignores him. They get to Yaku’s house. After the lights in the city center, the quiet residential streets seem eerily dark, the sparse streetlights not quite bright enough.

“I had fun tonight,” Yaku tells Kuroo, in front of the gate. “Thanks for...this.”

“Would you want to do this again? Maybe?” Kuroo asks him, like he actually thinks there’s a chance Yaku would say no.

Yaku reaches up and yanks Kuroo down to kiss him, because like hell is he standing on tiptoes for this. Kuroo makes a surprised noise against Yaku’s mouth, but he kisses back, as intense and focused as he is about everything.

“Didn’t I already tell you I like you?” Yaku whispers, pulling back slightly.

Kuroo smiles.“You might have to tell me again.”

**Author's Note:**

> riin's [ post abt loving kuroyaku](https://priintaniere.tumblr.com/post/178221934954/hey-can-u-explain-what-you-like-about-kuroyaku-is) inspired me so much, the working title of this document was "I feel kuroyaku in this chili's tonight thanks riin"  
> talk to me on [tumblr](http://cubistemoji.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/mashazart/)  
> 


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